"No, no, no. You're doing it all wrong. Bait the hook like this."

Annabeth glared at the blonde teen before her, biting her tongue at the way he snatched the fishing rod from her. He was so…controlling.

He was always like this.

"It's fine. Girls can't fish all that well anyways," he said casually, baiting the hook for her. Though his voice seemed calm enough, he impaled the worm on the hook rather forcefully, some of the small creature's fluids spurting into the air.

Annabeth made a disgusted face at both the worm, and her friend. She could hardly see a difference between the two anymore.

That was the thing about Luke. He would be charming and suave, but subtly insult and snub a person at the same time. Some people never even realized Luke had insulted them, too caught up with his good looks.

Annabeth, on the other hand, was too smart for his tricks. He had practiced his subtle rudeness on her countless times.

And she was tired of it.

"Girls can fish just as well as any guy, and you know that. I've just never done this before."

Luke scoffed, surprised at her angry tone with him. Seriously? He quickly glanced at the crowd of kids around them, some of them who were observing the scene closely. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, annoyed by his female friend.

She rarely called him out like this, especially in front of others. He had to fix this. Annabeth was cramping his style. Again.

"Are you really going to make me look like the bad guy? This is my party on my yacht. I invited you out the goodness of my heart."

Annabeth scowled. Was he being serious right now? He invited her out of 'goodness of his heart'? She was his childhood friend! Inviting her wasn't some sort of act of charity. It was expected.

But of course, Luke's newer friends backed him up as usual.

"Chill out, blondie," Ethan Nakamura teased, fingering the rim of his red cup.

"Yeah, it's a party. Quit trying to be 'correct' all the time and have fun for once in your life, Annabeth," Octavian joked, high-fiving Ethan.

When the other kids began to giggle along and Luke turned away from her, Annabeth frowned. The other kids were laughing because they believed the same thing. Annabeth Chase was an insufferable know-it-all. A party pooper, a killjoy, a spoilsport.

Luke turned towards her, still laughing at his friends' jokes. "Aw, c'mon Annie, don't look at me like that. The guys were just joking-"

"I'm tired of it, Luke. You always treat me this way, like some sort of side show freak that you drag along to entertain your...'friends'. The people who pretend to be your friends. I'm not going to be your fool anymore. I'm done with you."

The tips of Luke's ears turned pink and he could feel his irritation growing.

"You're done with me…? No babe, I'm done with you. You're always complaining and whining about every little thing I do. You can't take a joke to save your life. I was just trying to give you thick skin."

Annabeth threw down her fishing rod, furious.

"You're not trying to 'toughen me up', you're just being cruel! I can't even remember why I ever called you a friend in the first place! Thalia was right about you all along. You're not the same."

Kids on the boat began muttering and whispering, growing excited over the dramatic scene. Annabeth shook her head at them all, turning on her heel and heading for the lower deck of the yacht.

She had come to the party for Luke, but they came to the party because of what Luke had. Like leeches, they fed off of his wealth and all the luxury that came with it. And yet, as true of a friend as she was to Luke, he still treated her worse than the rest of them.

She should have never came.

Luke gave a shocked look at her retreating figure, a disbelieving smile drawing itself onto his face. "Who cares what Thalia thinks? She's not even here. Ann', where are you running, huh? We're in the middle of the Atlantic ocean on my yacht, babe!" He exaggerated. Yeah, they were pretty far out, but only an hour's drive, and they would be back at their seaside town.

When Annabeth didn't stop and disappeared into the lower decks of the luxury ship, Luke shrugged.

He wasn't upset. She could go slip and fall overboard for all he cared. What was she thinking, ending their friendship like that in front of everyone? He was being nice to her, giving her the title of 'friend'. Luke was a busy dude, with the looks and money to get with anyone he wanted. This was that twerp's thanks for him hanging out with her? Sure, they had been friends in elementary school, but things changed. Annabeth was getting more and more sour by the day, in Luke's opinion.

She was a waste of time.

Whatever. He wouldn't let her ruin his mood tonight, and besides; he had a party to run! It's not like he did anything wrong. Also, Silena was here tonight. Luke's eyes roamed over to the voluptuous blonde, and they locked eyes, smirking.

If Annabeth wasn't going to stick around, he would have some fun on his own.

"Who's ready to PARTY, people?!" He called out, holding up a bottle of liquor. Yeah, his party had everything. Boats, babes, booze, and more. What could he possibly need Annabeth for...?

She was below deck, hiding away in the yacht's small bathroom.

Teenagers moved through the rooms and on the decks of the yacht. All of them were too young to drink, but too bold to care, and privileged enough to be acquaintances with Luke Castellan, the owner of the yacht.

Annabeth sighed. She guessed that it helped to have a rich business tycoon uncle like Kronos. How else would Luke afford all this?

She buried her face in her hands, frustrated.

Why had she wasted so much time on Luke? He had teased her mercilessly and treated her like some sort of pet the entire school year, but she stuck around like some sort of dope.

And now here she was, stuck on his yacht. With nowhere to go until the party ended and it was time to return to shore.

He would be furious over the fact that she stood up to him in front of the other party-goer's. Annabeth was sure it wouldn't matter. He would still have his loyal entourage of followers and wanna-be's. Money ruled around here. He was probably still up there having fun right now surrounded by his friends, with a new girl on his arm.

And to think she had...to think she had actually liked...

Annabeth didn't care anymore.

She stood up, her chest tightening. She wouldn't get upset over something as stupid as this. She would go get some air, that's all. Pushing open the bathroom door, Annabeth maneuvered around the drunk couples that were lazily making out, and the silly friends that were throwing things around the cabin.

She made her way towards the back of the yacht, where no workers or kids would find her, before going back above deck. She sighed as the sounds of the party grew quieter and quieter, glad to escape from it all.

The yacht was big, but she could still hear the music pumping faintly on the other side. Annabeth exhaled slowly, her brows furrowing as she leaned over the rail, thinking.

Always thinking...

...

...She wished Thalia were still here.

They had been the best of friends, once. However, the spunky girl had moved to New York to live with her dad, and Annabeth had been left all alone in their seaside town. Thalia often wrote and called, but it wasn't the same. Annabeth wasn't as close to anyone else as she had been with Thalia.

Sure, she sat with kids she knew at school during classes and lunch. Sometimes she hung out with groups after school, and sometimes she met new kids at the community center she volunteered at, but none of them were Thalia.

They had all grown up together, the three of them. When Luke's uncle Kronos came to town, things had undeniably changed.

Thalia had been the one that had warned her about Luke.

"Annabeth, I know you like him, but please, think before you do anything with him. Luke's different now. I don't know why, but he is. I think it's his uncle. It's the money, Annabeth. It's changing him."

Annabeth squeezed her eyes shut. Thalia had been right. He had changed.

With both her old friends gone, Annabeth felt lost. She missed the old Luke. She missed Thalia.

Annabeth groaned, her eyes growing glossy.

A friend. She needed one.

"Hey."

Annabeth's eyes shot open and she swerved away from the railing of the ship, wondering who had spoken. When she didn't see anyone nearby on the deck, confusion overtook her. Who had spoken?

"Down here," the voice called again.

Annabeth looked down at her feet stupidly. "What?" she called out, wondering where the voice was coming from. It was when she heard splashing, that she raced back to railing, peering over the ship's side.

A boy.

He was bobbing in the water, watching her closely. Only his face was above water, the rest of his body from neck-down was submerged in the dark depths.

Annabeth gasped. Someone fell overboard!

"Are you okay?" She managed while looking around for some sort of rescue flotation device. "You fell overboard? I'll get you out, hold on," she was about to race away until the voice stopped her.

"No, wait. Come back."

Annabeth paused, slowly returning to the rail.

"But you're-you need to get out of there, it's getting dark and it'll be freezing soon. Hypothermia is no joke-" she silenced at the intense look the boy was giving her. Now that she thought about it, he didn't seem like he was struggling or in trouble. He actually seemed...comfortable.

The boy looked at her intently before bringing a slow finger before his lips, warning her to be quiet.

"Can you get any closer to the water?" he asked.

Annabeth froze, forgetting about his question. His lips.

They...they weren't moving.

Like, at all.

"How're you…how're you talking without opening your mouth?" She questioned.

"Never mind that. Just get closer to the water."

Annabeth gave him a strange look. Was he some sort of magician or something? A ventriloquist?

"Y-yeah, hold on."

She left the railing and raced to the stern, the farthest part of the back of the yacht. As she raced down the stairs onto the low platform of the stern, she wondered how the boy fell overboard. Too much to drink? Maybe someone pushed him?

No one was there by the stern, all of the kids near the front where the birthday cake and alcohol was. She could still hear the music, but it was even farther away now. She began to think again. How had that boy been talking without opening his mouth?! A prank, maybe? But no, she had heard his voice as clear as day, she knew he had been talking to her.

She stepped down onto the lowest platform of the stern, closest to the water. She could simply reach out and submerge her arm, if she wanted to.

Annabeth kneeled onto the platform and peered into the water, looking around the murky depths. There was no sign of the boy.

She grew fearful.

What if the boy had drowned? What if the freezing temperatures locked his muscles up and he sunk? Oh no, what if she couldn't save him?!

At that moment, she saw the boy slowly emerging from the water. Water droplets rolled down his dark hair. His eyes remained wide open the entire time, focusing on her. They seemed glassy and too bright.

Annabeth had never seen eyes that green on anyone. A side effect of too much seawater, maybe?

"C'mon, let's get you out of there," Annabeth tried, reaching for the boy.

He moved away, barely making any splash in the water. Shaking his head in refusal, his voice came again to Annabeth. "No, I need your help." His lips remained still.

Annabeth realized that the voice was INSIDE her head.

But that…that was impossible. Annabeth shook her head. Telepathy didn't exist. There were no official recorded cases of it.

Right…?

"I need your help." The voice repeated once more, surprising Annabeth. Maybe telepathy was real after all.

She frowned. "That's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to help you!" Annabeth reached for him again, losing her balance. She nearly fell into the water but a strong hand pushed her back, forcing her onto the platform.

She grew frustrated with the entire situation.

"What's wrong with you? You pull these weird mind tricks, and then you ask for help, but when I try to help, you push me away? Are you crazy? You'll freeze in that water if you stay in there too long, and we're too far away from shore for you to get immediate medical help. I'm trying to save you from dying, so if you'd stop being ridiculous and let me-" and Annabeth stopped speaking.

Because that was when she saw it.

The boy leaned back as it rose out of the water before him, glossy and wet, unfurling like a butterfly. The scales on it reflected the rays of the sunset. It shone like sea glass, like something alien.

A tail.

A mermaid tail.

Annabeth's jaw dropped. "Y-y-you…"

The boy winced, and Annabeth finally noticed what was ailing him. The…tail…was his. And the tail had been run through, stabbed. It was pierced with a large, steel hook.

Luke's steel fishing hook.

The razor point had shredded through the side of the tail, near the fins. Red blood gleamed across the scales, tainting the color.

It looked painful.

"Oh…I-I…you're a mermaid?" Annabeth gasped out, officially freaked out.

No. Way.

"Merman," she could hear the boy's voice grit out painfully in her mind. She touched her head, wondering if she was going crazy.

"I can't get it out. Please."

Annabeth's eyes widened and she nodded furiously.

Okay. Merman. She would help him out. This was weird, yeah, but the boy...uh, fish- erhm...man?…whatever it was…it was obviously hurt. She motioned for him to come closer so that she wouldn't fall off the platform again. The boy edged forward in the water, raising his hands and lifting himself onto the yacht's platform.

Annabeth observed intently with wide eyes. As he rose out of the water, he seemed like a normal guy. Fingers, arms, shoulders, chest, stomach. He had the whole 'torso' thing down. But as his hips came into view, things somehow meshed from human flesh into fish scales. Within seconds he was sitting on the platform beside her, his fish tail in plain view.

Annabeth stared at him.

He looked around worriedly before pointing to the hook. "Hurry."

Annabeth nodded strangely, still in shock over everything. She leaned over, her hands cautiously touching the tail. It twitched the moment her fingers made contact, and a squeal escaped her as she pulled away. Taking a deep breath, she tried again and fixed a good grip onto the tail. It was strangely warm, and slippery.

The hook was made so that if someone tried removing it, it would shred all the flesh on the way out. Annabeth eased it out, careful not to cause any more damage than the hook already had. The scales beneath her fingers actually rose up, like goosebumps.

She looked over to see the boy breathing harshly and gritting his teeth. Annabeth felt increasingly bad as small whining sounds escaped the boy. The sounds weren't telepathic, but actual, auditory, sounds. He was struggling. Annabeth concentrated, pushing her finger into the wound as she eased the hook out of the tail. The flesh inside the wound felt strong and twitched, squeezing her finger.

When Annabeth finally pulled the entire hook out, her hands were slightly bloody. The boy gave a large exhale, relaxing against the platform to catch his breath.

She frowned at the large hook. It was far too large for normal fishing. Who fished during a yacht party, anyways?

Annabeth paused, looking at the merman beside her. His breathing slowed and his fingers weren't clutching the deck as tightly. He sighed heavily, looking at her thankfully.

"Thanks. I couldn't figure out how to get that thing out. Some blonde asshole snagged my tail. I snapped the cord, but the hook was still in me."

Annabeth watched carefully as the boy's lips remained still the entire time. His voice resounded softly through her mind.

"How…how are you speaking?" She asked, though she already knew the answer. She wanted to hear what he had to say.

"Mind speak. Or telepathy, in your language."

"And how do you know my language? English? How do you…mind speak?"

The boy looked around nervously, almost as if he wasn't sure whether he should say anymore. Finally, he began. "Mer-people don't like to speak physically. Our voices aren't strong enough to carry through the water. We click sometimes, sending vibrations. Most times though, we mind-speak."

Annabeth shivered as his voice rolled across the insides of her skull. It felt…too personal.

The boy frowned. "Does it upset you?"

Annabeth shook her head slowly. It did, kind of, but this was a merman she was talking to. When would she get a chance like this again?

"I can change to your way of speaking, if you want," the boy answered out loud.

Annabeth jumped at the sound of his actual voice hitting the air. He sounded raspy, as if he hadn't tried talking out loud for ages. She smiled, glad to hear his actual voice and happy that he could speak out loud. What else could he do?

"You speak English, then?"

"Yes."

"How? Who taught you?"

The boy's eyes glazed over slightly. "My father. He speaks many languages. Languages of the sea-folk and the humans."

Annabeth's eyes widened. She was fascinated. She leaned in close, careful to avoid kneeling on the boy's injured tail.

"So mermaids are real, then?"

The boy gave her a curious smile, tilting his head. Wavy locks, as dark as ink, fell across his forehead. "Why wouldn't they be?"

Annabeth frowned. Didn't he know? "Most people believe that they're myths."

"Oh, that. Mer-people usually keep their distance."

"Why?"

"Humans are dangerous. To others, and themselves."

Annabeth's face fell. She wouldn't say that he was wrong, but...

"…Do you think I'm dangerous?"

The boy's eyes twinkled and the corners of his mouth drew up into a small smile. He shook his head.

"No. I think you are kind."

Annabeth could feel her face heating up. This was a first. She hadn't looked at any other boys besides Luke Castellan for a long time. She could already feel herself looking the boy before her over before she stopped herself. Okay, yeah, he had some pretty amazing abs...but he was still a merman. She didn't have time for this, she needed to know more about him!

The boy's eyes flicked down to her legs curiously. He gazed back up with those neon green eyes.

"Can I…?" he broke off, reaching out to touch her legs.

Annabeth's eyes widened before she nodded nervously. He had probably never seen human legs up close like this, before. She slowly slid out a leg for him to get a better look at it.

His hands felt normal as he trailed his fingers from her knees, to her calves. He squeezed in some places, prodded others. Annabeth held back a giggle as he slid off her sandals and pawed at her toes, touching each individual one. The boy noticed and smiled at that, messing with her toes a little more than necessary. Annabeth pulled away, laughing softly.

"Do you have a name?" She asked breathlessly, seriously wondering at this point. Did mermaids have names?

"Perseus."

Ah. So they did have names.

"I'm Annabeth," she declared, pointing at herself. "Annabeth Chase."

He smiled at her then, leaning forward. "So you walk on land, Annabeth of Chase? What is it like?" He sounded genuinely interested.

Annabeth vaguely thought of what it felt like to walk, to run across sandy beaches, and jump, and skip. She imagined her school, then her home, and herself sleeping softly inside of it. Her house...man, she kind of missed it after being out here on this yacht for so long. She jumped as she felt something prodding in her mind, like someone was dipping their fingers into her brain. She swiveled towards the merboy, eyes widening as he stared at her.

Perseus. He was looking through her thoughts.

"Sorry," he offered, noticing her discomfort. "That is another way the sea-folk communicate. I only saw your home...it is strange."

Annabeth nodded, pushing down her feeling of uneasiness. "That's alright. It's just...most people don't like their thoughts being seen. It's better for us to just talk, like this, see?"

Perseus nodded. "Then tell me. Tell me what it's like to walk on land."

She shivered before beginning to explain.

"Well, it's-"

"Ann', where are you?" a voice called out, breaking the moment.

Luke.

Perseus swerved towards the sound, alerted, before pushing off the deck. His tail made a small slap as he dove into the water and out of sight. Annabeth froze, awed by the display of incredible speed. Her mind soon caught up with the moment and she raised a trembling hand.

"W-wait Perseus, don't g-"

"Ann'?" Luke called out again, rounding the corner and stepping down onto the platform. "You don't have to sit back here all alone. Why don't you come back to the cabin, yeah? I cleared it out for us. Sorry about the fight…you know how I get sometimes. I miss you already, babe."

When he reached out for her, Annabeth moved away, frustrated.

"Luke, I am not your babe, You're not sorry. I wasn't kidding when I said I was through with you. I don't want us to be friends anymore. I don't want us to hang out anymore, it's over. And I don't know what you think I'm going to do with you in that cabin, but it's not going to happen. Not here, not now, not ever."

Luke huffed. "Fine. Be that way. I know you like me, but whatever. You were always such a prude." And with that, he stalked off, looking for some other way to have fun.

Annabeth watched him go, trying not to let his words sting. She hadn't known that he was aware of her secret affection for him. She thought they had been friends. The thought that he would even suggest something like that angered her.

Once he was gone, Annabeth turned to the water and called across the waves.

"Perseus? Perseus, please, come back!"

Silence.

The waves remained unbroken and Annabeth sat back, dumbstruck. A merman. She had touched a merman, been touched by one. She had telepathically communicated with something that wasn't even supposed to exist.

And Luke had scared it off!

Annabeth groaned and threw herself to the ground, her back hitting the platform. That could've been a scientific breakthrough waiting to happen! Perseus was a living contradiction. And if things such as mer-people existed, what about other mythical creatures?

What else was out there?

Annabeth stared into the night sky from the clean decks of the yacht. He was gone. She wondered vaguely if she would ever see that boy again.

If only she knew.